Les Miles Hopes LSU Football Can Help Unite Baton Rouge

On a Saturday night in the fall you can see people from all walks of life inside Tiger Stadium on the campus of LSU. They are not black nor white, they are not this religion or that religion, they are there as LSU Tiger fans. It is in this spirit that LSU Head Coach Les Miles addressed the media yesterday.

The Southeastern Conference Media Days are underway for the upcoming football season. Coach Les Miles used the opportunity to speak of more than football during his time at the podium. Coach Miles addressed the death of Alton Sterling. He addressed the issue of a community divided and how he hoped LSU football could be a healing tie that brings Baton Rouge together.

I hope that the Tigers do their best and that that happens in Baton Rouge, because Baton Rouge is home.

Miles went on to say, in comments reported by the Louisiana Radio Network, that building a football team is similar to building a strong community.

You need compassion for people and you build them up, you train them and you give them the best practices as a team, as a community, and as a society.

He told those present that he is encouraging his team to be supportive and active in the Baton Rouge community. He wanted the team to help be the catalyst for better times in Baton Rouge.

If you look to see change and if you watch the representation of our country on TV, you realize that change is necessary and it comes through all of us.

The Tiger open their 2016 football season on the road against the University of Wisconsin in a game that will be played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on September 3rd. The home opener for LSU will be against Jacksonville State on September 10th.